Overview
- Kumail Nanjiani opened the 78th DGA Awards at the Beverly Hilton with a roughly 20‑minute monologue that mixed sharp jokes and institutional critique.
- Nanjiani highlighted the guild’s former D.W. Griffith lifetime honor and stressed it was not renamed until 1999, while also riffing on nominees, Spielberg and an Epstein gag.
- He noted he is from Karachi, Pakistan, marking a first for a DGA Awards host, and closed by praising filmmakers’ ability to underscore shared humanity.
- DGA president Christopher Nolan cited employment falling about 40% in 2024 with another decline in 2025 and urged directors to engage employers ahead of negotiations with the AMPTP.
- The ceremony, a key Oscars precursor before the March 15 Academy Awards, also expanded access as the full opening was streamed to the press room, unlike in past years.